English · Class 9

Active learning ideas

Identifying Bias in Non-Fiction

Active learning in this topic helps students move beyond passive reading to critical engagement. When learners annotate and rewrite texts in pairs or groups, they internalise how bias functions in real writing, making abstract concepts concrete. This hands-on approach builds the confidence they need to question non-fiction texts independently.

• CBSE Learning Outcomes
• CBSE: Grammar - Reported Speech - Class 9

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Formal Debate
• 30 min · Pairs

Pair Annotation: Bias Hunt

Provide excerpts from travel accounts. In pairs, students highlight facts in green, opinions in yellow, and biased words in red. They discuss and list three linguistic markers per pair, then share with the class.

Explain how a reader can identify bias in a supposedly objective travel account.

Facilitation Tip

During Pair Annotation, give each pair a different coloured pen for facts versus opinions to make patterns visually clear.

What to look for

Provide students with a short paragraph from a travel article. Ask them to underline two examples of loaded language and one instance of selective detail, then write one sentence explaining how these elements create bias.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Formal Debate
• 45 min · Small Groups

Small Group Debate: Biased or Balanced?

Divide class into small groups, each analysing a non-fiction passage. Groups prepare arguments on whether it shows bias, citing evidence. Hold a class debate where groups defend positions and vote on the most convincing analysis.

Analyze what linguistic markers signal a transition from fact to opinion in a non-fiction text.

Facilitation Tip

For Small Group Debate, assign roles like ‘fact checker’ or ‘perspective analyst’ to structure participation.

What to look for

Present two different news headlines about the same event. Ask students: 'What words in these headlines suggest a particular viewpoint? How might the articles themselves differ in their reporting based on these headlines?' Facilitate a brief class discussion on identifying initial bias signals.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Formal Debate
• 35 min · Whole Class

Whole Class Rewrite Relay

Display a biased travel text on the board. Students take turns rewriting sentences from biased to neutral, using reported speech. Class votes on improvements and discusses changes.

Critique a non-fiction passage for potential biases based on the author's word choice.

Facilitation Tip

In Whole Class Rewrite Relay, display each rewritten sentence on the board and ask the class to vote on the most neutral version.

What to look for

Give students a list of adjectives (e.g., 'stunning', 'adequate', 'chaotic', 'peaceful', 'ordinary'). Ask them to classify each as typically objective or subjective, and briefly explain their reasoning for two of the words.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Formal Debate
• 20 min · Individual

Individual Text Audit

Assign a short news article. Individually, students create a bias checklist: word choice, omissions, tone. They score the text and justify in a one-paragraph reflection shared later.

Explain how a reader can identify bias in a supposedly objective travel account.

Facilitation Tip

During Individual Text Audit, provide a checklist with examples of loaded language and selective details to guide analysis.

What to look for

Provide students with a short paragraph from a travel article. Ask them to underline two examples of loaded language and one instance of selective detail, then write one sentence explaining how these elements create bias.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model the process by thinking aloud while annotating a sample text, showing how they notice loaded adjectives or omitted details. It is important to avoid framing bias as ‘good or bad’; instead, focus on how language shapes meaning. Research suggests repeated exposure to varied texts helps students internalise these patterns faster than isolated lessons.

By the end of these activities, students will reliably distinguish between verifiable facts and subjective interpretations in non-fiction. They will use linguistic cues to identify bias and practise rewriting biased sentences into neutral forms. Most importantly, they will articulate how an author’s choices reflect perspective.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Pair Annotation: Bias Hunt, some students may assume all non-fiction texts are completely objective.

  During Pair Annotation: Bias Hunt, circulate and ask each pair to compare their annotations. Guide them to note where facts are presented without context or where opinions are slipped in as statements, using the checklist as evidence.

• During Small Group Debate: Biased or Balanced?, students may think bias appears only in obvious opinions.

  During Small Group Debate: Biased or Balanced?, provide each group with a table showing how selective details create bias even in factual reporting, such as leaving out key events to support a claim.

• During Whole Class Rewrite Relay, learners might believe an author's background never influences reporting.

  During Whole Class Rewrite Relay, ask students to research the author’s name or affiliation briefly before rewriting. Have them note how this context might shape the language they are correcting.

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Methods used in this brief

• Formal Debate